London Gatwick Airport confirm daily flight limit will continue for two more weeks due to ‘staffing challenges’

Gatwick imposed an initial cap of 800 flights a day starting with immediate effect from September 25 until October 1.

The initial decision was made alongside NATS, who run the London Gatwick air traffic control tower. The daily cap was designed to prevent last-minute cancellations and delays for passengers while NATS work through challenges driven by sickness and staffing constraints.

But further ‘staffing challenges’ have caused Gatwick to extend the temporary limit.

The airport said there will be ‘no impact’ on ‘many days’ due to Gatwick’s reduced summer schedule, but advised passengers to check the status of their flights with their airlines.

A London Gatwick spokesperson said: “Following further discussions with NATS and the airlines, the airport has decided to extend the temporary limit on daily flight movements as a precautionary measure through to 15 October 2023.

“The limit will be kept under review while we continue to work with NATS on their staffing challenges.

“The limit has been extended for a further two weeks to prevent delays and last-minute cancellations for passengers. As the overall flight schedule has reduced now the summer season is coming to an end, on many days there will be no impact on our operation.

 “Passengers are advised to check the status of their flights with their airlines. We would like to apologise for the continued disruption and to the passengers who have been impacted by the restrictions.”

Gatwick has been hit by a number of issues in recent weeks. Thousands of passengers were evacuated from the airport yesterday morning due to a ‘fire alarm being activated’.

An outbreak of Covid among air traffic control staff lead to a number of flight cancellations and thousands of passengers facing delays last week.

An earlier shortage of air traffic controllers meant flights at Gatwick Airport were cancelled, delayed or diverted at short notice on Thursday, September 14.

This incident came just weeks after the UK's air traffic control system was hit by a network failure on August Bank Holiday Monday.